Editor, I have followed Michael Ray’s musings forever and so glad he has landed at the LB Indy! This week’s piece (Musings on the Coast, “The Inauguration,” Jan. 18) took me right back to the joyous, proud-full, elated, tearful feeling I had at last year’s presidential inauguration. Keep up the good work! Maria Szakacs, [...]
By Howard Hills Through his thoughtful commentaries Michael Ray is a sincere and valued voice in our town’s civic discourse. His reflections on the year 2012 (Indy, Dec. 9) invite dialogue. Ray describes the process for casting votes in the Electoral College as “boring.” Ask the beleaguered people of Egypt, Libya, Iran and Venezuela, when it [...]
Editor, Re: Michael Ray’s columns Musings on the Coast and “The New Prohibitionists”. It is sad but so very true… The scenario he described is going to happen if the SHO ordinance is passed. What a tragedy it will be. I am a parent of three sons all under the drinking age. I do not [...]
Jason, my teenage friend, I know you are dead and cannot read this letter, but I had to write it anyway. You just wanted to go drinking with your friends. Then you foolishly got behind the wheel and got yourself killed, and killed two innocents in the process. I am dreadfully sorry. But it did [...]
I urge Laguna Beach citizens to vote “yes” on Measure CC because our very quality of life is the issue. It is about creating open space within Laguna Beach forever. Some background. In 1990, our city cut a deal with the Irvine Company to buy some 2,000 acres comprising the open space in Laguna Canyon. [...]
Finding Locals in Unlikely Places By Madeline Knutson, Special to the Independent Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention filled with stress, excitement, and pure American patriotism. I was not in possession of a credential to enter the arena due to the venue change. The venue had changed because of extreme weather conditions. However, my luck [...]
By Madeline Knutson, Special to the Independent Tonight I attended the first night of the Democratic National Convention, which definitely did not disappoint! I heard from many different speakers on issues crucial to the campaign, such as equal pay, the right to choose, and the necessity of universal health care. There were a few standouts [...]
My girlfriend Kim Bowen was born in London and went to St. Martins College of Art and Design, the Harvard of England’s artistic community. From there, she became a writer/critic for London’s fashion press and a regular at The Blitz, which was like NYC’s Club 54 where the young and cool thought they were reinventing [...]
Encountering Nature’s Force My kids and I are off on a weeklong rafting trip through the Grand Canyon on the mighty Colorado River. I have done it a half dozen times and love it. I take the “luxury” experience (yeah, right) on a big, sturdy raft that holds up to 15 people and has two [...]
The thing about conservative Republicans is they are great haters. They are great at standing up to the foe, declaring war, wagging it with savagery and then stomping all over their slain opponent. Democrats parse it to death. Is he really such a bad guy? Doesn’t some of what he says make sense? Is it [...]
Homeostasis “…is the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition…” The planet Earth is a classic homeostatic system. It tends toward stability, which in scientific terms is called “stasis.” It also is a host, which by definition means it tolerates, is a home to [...]
The Next Generation’s Woodstock Two of my three kids attended the Coachella Music Festival this year, and the third would have too, but she was in college in London. In one earlier year, she got away with pretending to need to be in So Cal during the time of the festival, and then—oops—as long as [...]
The Ranters When I first thought about this column, I wanted it to be a rant about my seemingly endless Facebook friends who have gone off their rockers in rants of their own or send me endless email rants. And all with the particularly vicious purity of true believers. But I cannot work myself [...]
Revisiting Seaward Road It is funny what you remember about growing up. For me, it was all about Seaward Road, which is in Corona Highlands in southern Corona del Mar. Specifically, it was the flat part about two-thirds of the way to the top. My family had a house there. The house was split-level, with [...]
The Reawakening Laguna Beach used to be a gay Mecca. We had our own goodly district of gay bars, restaurants and clubs. Then time and local demographics changed that and now the Mecca has moved. It went mostly to Palm Springs. Palm Spring’s reached its height of pre-gay notoriety between 1950-70, when actors [...]
Police Use Taser to Subdue Assault Suspect
An assault involving three men escalated into a struggle with Laguna Beach police, who ultimately deployed a taser twice to subdue the younger combative suspect in the 300 block of Cozumel around 1:15 a.m. Friday, May 10, police said. Police ultimately arrested Laguna Beach resident Sergio Gabriel Borgognone, 51, for allegedly resisting arrest and his [...]
